Vehicle roofs are usually internally lined with a roof liner that generally comprises a number of sheets or layers of various materials glued together, and hence are self-supporting and adapt well to the inner shape of the vehicle roof. Nowadays, the internal fittings as such sun visors, handles or hangers, are used to fix the roof liner to the vehicle roof. These fittings, present in every vehicle, have respective fixing elements that are basically bolts crossing through the roof liner and in turn fixing the same firmly against the vehicle roof. That is to say, the packing is always arranged between the fittings and the bodywork, and therefore attachment of the fittings, using nuts and bolts provided to such end, will cause the roof liner to be held tight between the two.
In this widely used system, the roof liner and the fittings aforesaid are fixed by hand inside the vehicle, placing the self-supporting roof lining between the fittings and the bodywork and then fixing the set fittings using bolts, which operation is both slow and inconvenient for workmen given the little space there is inside vehicles, which means that fitting the same fully requires between six and eight minutes.
In addition to this, workmen are frequently injured due to the awkward positions they have to work in within the vehicle to fit the roofs.
This is why motor car manufacturers would welcome a roof carrying all requisite fittings and having means for direct attachment in lieu of the usual lockscrews, in order for fitting, removal and replacement of components to be easier. The relevant roof must also be lightweight, conserve its self-supporting character and capacity to withstand loads, moreover allowing the same to be handled and mounted by only two workers.
The self-supporting roof subject of the invention fully eliminates the disadvantages described for current systems, moreover satisfying the necessary requirements, inasmuch as eliminating the need for the fittings to be mounted inside the vehicle, thereby reducing operations and working time inside the vehicle.